- Street smARTS: The city’s Arts Commission and Department of Public Works are going to connect urban artists with private property owners and others to provide sanctioned spaces for murals and other artwork.

- Where Art Lives: A Graffiti Education Project: A school program for grades 4-6 starting this fall at six public schools in hard-hit graffiti areas. The program will bring an urban artist into the classroom to introduce students to concepts of public and personal space, the difference between art and vandalism, the treatment of public property and the value of caring for public spaces.

- A Chinatown-specific program to provide education, abatement services and materials for residents and merchants to cut down on tagging in a graffiti hotspot.

Think graffiti is just unsightly, no big deal? The Department of Public Works says it spends about $4 million a year on graffiti abatement, and officials estimate the problem costs all city departments a combined $20 million a year.